The Port of Seattle has an exemplary environmental record of which we are rightly proud. For more than 100 years, we have been the economic engine for the Puget Sound region, responsible for creating more than 100,000 jobs and opportunities for working class families throughout the Puget Sound region. We stand by our commitment to ensure our economy has diverse opportunities for all residents.
The port’s temporary, two-year lease to Foss Maritime at Terminal 5 during the terminal’s upgrade has the potential to create hundreds of family-wage jobs and generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue for the region. We also respect the differences of opinion amongst community stakeholders and commissioners, and will carefully review their feedback and concerns.
In every decision we make, we consider both our responsibility to steward our local environment with our fiduciary duties to the citizens of King County. Like most, we believe it is possible to have a balanced approach to our work that supports both the environment and the economy.
This project is an example of the balance we strive to reach. The revenue from this 24-month lease will help off-set the costs of the terminal’s upgrade to handle the next generation of ultra-large containerships, which will lessen the burden on taxpayers throughout the county. The marine work that will occur at T-5 by direct family-wage terminal, administrative, and merchant mariner jobs is the type of work that has been done at ports throughout Washington for more than 100 years.
We all recognize there are diverse opinions throughout the community about the future of gas and oil exploration. This was a hard decision for the Port Commission, and there was not unanimity in weighing the various factors. Nonetheless, we all agree about the significant competitive challenges facing our seaport, and the need to re-invest in our marine terminals in order to ensure our city and region has a working waterfront.
We, like many across King County and our state, are deeply concerned about the impact of fossil fuels on the environment. Our track-record for doing all that we can to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in every aspect of our operations speaks for itself.
Oil and gas exploration is under the regulatory authority of the Obama Administration and the federal Department of the Interior. The port’s commitment is to manage those public facilities over which we have control in the most sustainable manner possible.
